https://www.techdirt.com/2022/06/17/samsung-busted-for-cheating-tv-test-benchmarks/ [ ] Techdirt. [ ] * Sign In * Register * Preferences Techdirt [ ] * TechDirt * GreenHouse * Free Speech * Deals * Jobs * Support Techdirt [podcast-ti] San Francisco Public Records Task Force Threatens PD With Sanctions For Dodging Records Requests Wikimedia Fighting Russian Fines Over Its Content About Invasion Of Ukraine Samsung Busted For Cheating TV Test Benchmarks [uses-of-te] (Mis)Uses of Technology from the cheaters-never-win dept Fri, Jun 17th 2022 01:42pm - Karl Bode Modern reviewers put modern televisions through a gamut of different tests to determine display brightness, quality, power consumption, and other factors. Samsung, apparently thought it would be a brilliant idea to try and cheat the benchmarking system used by many reviewers to give their TVs an unfair advantage in comparison. First spotted by HDTVTest then confirmed by FlatpanelsHD, Samsung's S95B QD-OLED TV and QN95B 'Neo QLED' LCD TV were both designed to trick reviewers into thinking the displays have more accurate displays than they actually do: Reviewers, calibrators and certification bodies typically use a 10% window for HDR testing, which simply means that it takes up 10% of the screen. In this window multiple steps from black to white as well as a set of colors are measured. Samsung has designed its TVs to recognize this and other commonly used window sizes, after which the TV adjusts its picture output to make measurements appear more accurate than the picture really is. When using a non-standard window such as 9% (everything else equal), the cheating algorithm can be bypassed so the TV reveals its true colors. This is deliberate cheating, an orchestrated effort to mislead reviewers. In short the QN95B adjusts its luminance tracking and boosts peak brightness momentarily by up to 80% during testing to pretend the display is more capable than it actually is. Given the absolute obsession many TV testers have with studying every tiny detail of new sets, it's an incredibly bizarre choice by Samsung, which pretty clearly should have known better. In a statement, Samsung stated they'd be issuing an update to fix the issue, without actually admitting they'd done anything wrong: Samsung remains committed to relentless innovation to provide the best picture quality to our consumers," Samsung HQ wrote in a statement to FlatpanelsHD. "To provide a more dynamic viewing experience for the consumers, Samsung will provide a software update that ensures consistent brightness of HDR contents across a wider range of window size beyond the industry standard." Samsung has occasionally dabbled in these dark arts previously several times on phone benchmarks, and the penalties are generally short-lived at best. Filed Under: benchmarks, calibration, cheater, display, hdr, hdtv Companies: samsung 13 CommentsLeave a Comment If you liked this post, you may also be interested in... * Epic Games' Case Against Teenage Fortnite Cheater Finally Settles * Breathalyzer Manufacturer Under Criminal Investigation For Falsifying Maintenance Records And Calibration Results * Disappointing: Google Not Yet Requiring Phone Makers To Encrypt By Default * Awesome Stuff: On Display * DailyDirt: You Can't Believe Everything You See * * * * * * * * * * * * * Rate this comment as insightful Rate this comment as funny You have rated this comment as insightful You have rated this comment as funny Flag this comment as abusive/trolling/spam You have flagged this comment The first word has already been claimed The last word has already been claimed Lightbulb icon Laughing icon Flag icon Lightbulb icon Laughing icon Comments on "Samsung Busted For Cheating TV Test Benchmarks" Subscribe: RSS Leave a comment * Filter comments in by Time * Filter comments as Threaded * Filter only comments rated Insightful * Filter only comments rated funny LOL * Filter only comments that are Unread 13 Comments Collapse all replies [ab1e0d9472]Max (user link) says: June 17, 2022 at 2:12 pm BWAHAHAHA... Dieselgate all over again, except it isn't about emissions... Repeat after me, folks: when EVERYBODY is doing it, it's not a crime, it's a systemic fault. Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word A comment has already been promoted as last word. [u2515_100x0-1]ECA (profile) says: June 17, 2022 at 2:17 pm nothing new here Just keep on walking.. The Fine wont bother us, We will Simulate a Fix, and the picture will change abit. Buts that all. Collapse replies (1) Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word A comment has already been promoted as last word. Threaded [2] [da6bd709d9]OGquaker says: June 17, 2022 at 3:34 pm Re: Product, one more Trojan horse Many tightly-held "private" companies produced great product, for a hundred years, held to high-value standards because the Owner saw quality and longevity as a market advantage: think Elon. Stock buybacks, illegal until 1982 when Reagan (Bush the Elder's Charlie McCarthy dummy) pushed capital-izm off the moral edge. Eat it, pork bellies, your futures have been contracted. See Ogden V. Saunders Marshall's Capitalism-as-religion screed of 1827 Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word A comment has already been promoted as last word. [1b66235c04]Naughty Autie says: June 17, 2022 at 2:19 pm When Samsung first began pushing 'more secure' (user unfriendly) versions of Galaxy on users a few years before Alphabet began doing the same with all versions of Android, I began to call the Korean company 'Shitsung'. I'm honestly not surprised that my sobriquet for them is still true. Collapse replies (2) Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word A comment has already been promoted as last word. Threaded [2] [iclogo3_real_squ]Samuel Abram (profile) says: June 17, 2022 at 3:06 pm Re: I began to call the Korean company 'Shitsung' "Samdung" would've been better, IMHO. Collapse replies (1) Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word A comment has already been promoted as last word. Threaded [3] [5290282b56]Naughty Autie says: June 17, 2022 at 4:45 pm Re: Re: I'll use yours when around kids. Thanks! Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word A comment has already been promoted as last word. [4f76ddb876]Anonymous Coward says: June 17, 2022 at 2:53 pm why do I read Samsung's response as "we're fixing our cheat methods to work on window ranges between 8-12%"? Collapse replies (2) Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word A comment has already been promoted as last word. Threaded [2] [2b743e079e]Anonymous Coward says: June 17, 2022 at 4:05 pm Re: I'm not sure, but were this Slashdot, I'd up-vote you. I read it pretty much the same way. Collapse replies (1) Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word A comment has already been promoted as last word. Threaded [3] [10996357c7]Anonymous Coward says: June 17, 2022 at 5:29 pm Re: Re: You can mark it as insightful. i thought the same thing. Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word A comment has already been promoted as last word. [94528d61c6]Pixelation says: June 17, 2022 at 6:05 pm Now we know where those Volkswagen engineers got new jobs. Collapse replies (1) Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word A comment has already been promoted as last word. Threaded [2] [2eccbc043c]Yes, I Know I`m Commenting Anonymously says: June 18, 2022 at 8:46 am Re: I would put it like: "Samsung wants the same pubishment as Volkswagen". Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word A comment has already been promoted as last word. [u2535_100x0-1]fairuse (profile) says: June 18, 2022 at 8:32 am I'm running out of trustworthly retail TV manufactures I have not tossed NEC Multisync CRT attached to M$ Win98 box. I consider that computer a grave stone. Enter "Flat Screen" - The feds developed measurement, patterns, glare, and paper. I did some testing and the the standards office gave contractor control of all the test rigs,documentation,and computer files. The LCD, LED screen benchmarks probably stayed with CEA. I have CEA-896-A DVD-Video Test Signals, Standard Method of Measurement for DVD-Video players, December 2002. It was handy until Blu-ray and up -- The don't look under the hood laws. Sony LCD-HD TV pre 2012 had builtin Blu-ray -- not very good but it still works. Then Sony's POS spec and CS department got my middle finger. Samsung LED-HD TV got TV room. Better than Sony and my price range. Last of the dumb tv's. When Samsung started their clown car full of stupid specs -- off my list. LG 4K TV resting in the box will get set up. The 4k streams are "kinda 4k". 4k physical disk player is not here. The viewing setup in my TV room is best-as-it-gets after sun goes down. Yeah, SW facing big windows. Collapse replies (1) Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word A comment has already been promoted as last word. Threaded [2] [u2515_100x0-1]ECA (profile) says: June 18, 2022 at 11:40 pm Re: Mother and S. facing window. Living room was 12ft x7ft, and a South facing window. 4ft x 3ft. Single pain glass, old window. We live in S. Idaho. LOTS of sun. I took it out nad blocked it up. She asked why. Less HEAT coming in. Less Cold in winter. And I can see my TV. This was before upgrades to Cable internet. Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word A comment has already been promoted as last word. The Last Word I'm running out of trustworthly retail TV manufactures I have not tossed NEC Multisync CRT attached to M$ Win98 box. I consider that computer a grave stone. Enter "Flat Screen" - The feds developed measurement, patterns, glare, and paper. I did some testing and the the standards office gave contractor control of all the test rigs,documentation,and computer files. The LCD, LED screen benchmarks probably stayed with CEA. I have CEA-896-A DVD-Video Test Signals, Standard Method of Measurement for DVD-Video players, December 2002. It was handy until Blu-ray and up -- The don't look under the hood laws. Sony LCD-HD TV pre 2012 had builtin Blu-ray -- not very good but it still works. Then Sony's POS spec and CS department got my middle finger. Samsung LED-HD TV got TV room. Better than Sony and my price range. Last of the dumb tv's. When Samsung started their clown car full of stupid specs -- off my list. LG 4K TV resting in the box will get set up. The 4k streams are "kinda 4k". 4k physical disk player is not here. The viewing setup in my TV room is best-as-it-gets after sun goes down. Yeah, SW facing big windows. -- fairuse What's this? Techdirt community members with Techdirt Credits can spotlight a comment as either the "First Word" or "Last Word" on a particular comment thread. Credits can be purchased at the Techdirt Insider Shop >> --------------------------------------------------------------------- [] says: Add Your Comment Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Have a Techdirt Account? Sign in now. Want one? Register here Name [ ] Email [ ] [ ]Subscribe to the Techdirt Daily newsletter URL [ ] Subject [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Comment * [ ] Comment Options: (*)Use markdown. ( )Use plain text. Make this the ( )First Word or ( )Last Word.(*)No thanks. (get credits or sign in to see balance) what's this? What's this? Techdirt community members with Techdirt Credits can spotlight a comment as either the "First Word" or "Last Word" on a particular comment thread. 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